Favorite More than a decade ago, Congress tried to pass SOPA and PIPA—two sweeping bills that would have allowed the government and copyright holders to quickly shut down entire websites based on allegations of piracy. The backlash was immediate and massive. Internet users, free speech advocates, and tech companies flooded lawmakers with protests, culminating in…
All posts tagged SOPA/PIPA: Internet Blacklist Legislation
The Motion Picture Association Doesn’t Get to Decide Who the First Amendment Protects
Favorite Twelve years ago, internet users spoke up with one voice to reject a law that would build censorship into the internet at a fundamental level. This week, the Motion Picture Association (MPA), a group that represents six giant movie and TV studios, announced that it hoped we’d all forgotten how dangerous this idea was.…
More Than a Decade Later, Site-Blocking Is Still Censorship
Favorite We’re taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of copyright law and policy, addressing what’s at stake and what we need to do to make sure that copyright promotes creativity and…
Namecheap Relaunches Move Your Domain Day to Support Internet Freedom
Favorite Domain name registrar Namecheap has relaunched Move Your Domain Day, encouraging customers to raise money for online freedom with every domain move. Namecheap will donate up to $1.50 per domain transfer to the Electronic Frontier Foundation when customers switch to their service on March 6. With this year’s promotion Namecheap hopes to draw attention…
Will Canada Be the New Testing Ground for SOPA-lite? Canadian Media Companies Hope So
Favorite A consortium of media and distribution companies calling itself “FairPlay Canada” is lobbying for Canada to implement a fast-track, extrajudicial website blocking regime in the name of preventing unlawful downloads of copyrighted works. It is currently being considered by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), an agency roughly analogous to the Federal Communications…
5 Years Later, Victory Over SOPA Means More than Ever
Favorite It would have happened slowly at first. A broken hyperlink here and there. A few Google searches with links leading to nowhere. In the beginning, global users of the web would have barely noticed pieces of the Internet going dark. Then there may have been a few investigative journalists piecing things together, and then…
“Everyone Made Themselves the Hero.” Remembering Aaron Swartz
Favorite On January 18, 2012, the Internet went dark. Hundreds of websites went black in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). The bills would have created a “blacklist” of censored websites based on accusations of copyright infringement. SOPA was en route to quietly passing. But when millions…
Record Labels Make New Grab For Website-Blocking Power in YouTube-MP3 Suit
Favorite Once again, major record labels are asking a court to give them power over the Internet’s basic infrastructure. This is the very power that Congress has refused to give them, and the very power they have proven unable and unwilling to use responsibly. This time, their alleged target is the website Youtube-MP3.org, a site…
CloudFlare Protects Internet Users By Insisting On Lawful Orders Before Blocking Customers
Favorite This month, the online service provider CloudFlare stood up for its website-owner customers, and for all users of those websites, by telling a court that CloudFlare shouldn’t be forced to block sites without proper legal procedure. Copyright law limits the kinds of orders that a court can impose on Internet intermediaries, and requires courts…
Uma bateria de perigosas propostas contra o cibercrime ainda pendem sobre o Brasil
Favorite Ativistas de direitos digitais em todo o Brasil seguraram o fôlego ontem, enquanto a Comissão Parlamentar de Inquérito sobre Cibercrimes (CPICIBER) debateria se enviaria seu relatório à Câmara dos Deputados para tramitar e ser debatido pelas comissões temáticas. No final, a votação foi adiada e remarcada para terça-feira, 3 de maio. Um adiamento não…